I thought it was a brilliant race. Plenty of action on track, watching drivers like Bottas, Massa & Rosberg cutting through the field.
Perhaps but FOM showed the viewers next to no overtaking.
Anyone notice Jean Todt ignoring Fernando Alonso's hand on the grid and then going on to shake hands with all the other drivers in the lineup. Looked very poor and petty from the FIA President.
Perhaps but FOM showed the viewers next to no overtaking.
Anyone notice Jean Todt ignoring Fernando Alonso's hand on the grid and then going on to shake hands with all the other drivers in the lineup. Looked very poor and petty from the FIA President.
I saw lots of overtaking.
Also, Todt has said he didn't shake Alonso's hand because he'd spoken to him (and hugged him) earlier on.
totally agree, it could have done with a few bumps or a crash.
races when all they do is drive round and round with nothing happening is so boring. when that happens they will lose viewers/fans..
maybe all the drivers were told do not crash or bump as it will offend putin and you will be jailed.
I do often find races that everyone says were exciting were boring, and the other way round. I thought Russia was a great race, not one of the best, but still pretty exciting, what with Massa & Rosberg cutting through the field. I think it's cos I was able to follow the race more in terms of knowing where the drivers were on track & keeping track of the pitstops.
totally agree, it could have done with a few bumps or a crash.
races when all they do is drive round and round with nothing happening is so boring. when that happens they will lose viewers/fans..
maybe all the drivers were told do not crash or bump as it will offend putin and you will be jailed.
You wanted to see a crash, after what happened in Japan? :o
I'm afraid I'm with those who found it extremely tedious to watch on TV. Whilst I know, on an academic level, that there was overtaking taking place on the track, little of it translated into the coverage on TV.
And I'm afraid it's right up there with Valencia in terms of uninteresting races - and that's a shame, because it's a much better track with much more potential. Turn 3 is pretty spectacular, but the rest of it doesn't match up.
I can't believe someone thinks that (and I'll use a euphemism here) 'incidents on track' would have been the right way to liven up this race. That's never the right thing to wish for. It's a part of motor racing, yes - and I will freely admit that, as a child, when I spent every single club meet weekend at Silverstone with my parents (who were both involved in motor sport at an amateur level since before I was born; my Dad used to spend Friday nights in our local pub with Louise Goodman's Dad!) I used to wish for rain and sit at Woodcote in the hopes of 'something happening'.
But that was when I was under 10 years old, before I had any concept of how awful it is to 'wish' for that kind of 'action' on track, and before I grew up and had an appreciation for the skill that goes into motor sport. Maturity has made me look back on my childhood self and realise why it was my parents always tried to make me see otherwise. I can't believe any real motor sport enthusiast (my father refuses to be a 'fan' - he says enjoyment of motor sport at any level is all about enthusiasm, not 'fandom') would ever place 'incidents on track' (crashes and accidents) above manoeuvres on track by drivers to improve the overall action, especially after last weekend (and even more once you see the footage of Jules' accident on youtube).
I have yet to watch the BBC coverage, but I will get round to it (work has a tendency to get in the way!). Not that it will improve the overall quality of the camera work and direction of shots much!
Ouch. I mean really ouch. At least it wasn't quite the 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix (I think there was a grand total of 1 on track overtake, but extensive footage of Ross Brawn peeling and then consuming a delicious banana).
FOM had some great close up angles at Sochi. But they also had some hideous CGI based positions and also an over-reliance on the helicopter view for the scenery. I suspect they were getting orders from above to show a lot of the scenery for the special guest who arrived towards the end of the race.
Generally I've never got the helicopter view. Back in F1 Digital+ days I actually saw it as a trump card how little they used it - it said to me that they had enough on track angles not to need that distant view. I appreciate it's good to use for scenery shots, but beyond that I would rather it was limited to replays where the on track cameras can't cover it.
I'll be surprised if the helicopter view survives over the next decade anyway, drones will almost certainly be cheaper to run and probably provide better angles - of the cars rather than the advertising I hope.
However not because of a lack on crashes or even overtaking. Which many see as the only thing that makes F1 worth watching.
It is the lack of challenge. The layout of Sochi might be OK, but the vast tarmac run offs offer no challenge. Drivers can run wide and not be punished for making mistakes. That is one thing F1 has got wrong. F1 should be about the best never making errors because they are the pinnacle. Now a days on tracks like that its just not the case these days.
Also as it turned out, the field didn't even see much battling. Any passes were easy and not defended and most cars spread out from each other.
I don't mind if there is little overtaking, but I like dicing, battling and fights on track. These days tyres and DRS ruin that.
Generally I've never got the helicopter view. Back in F1 Digital+ days I actually saw it as a trump card how little they used it - it said to me that they had enough on track angles not to need that distant view. I appreciate it's good to use for scenery shots, but beyond that I would rather it was limited to replays where the on track cameras can't cover it.
I'd be quite happy if the limited its use to the above and setting the scene after the FOM sting, and then after the race if they really must. I find it is of exceptionally limited use during the race, other than to emphasise the fact that they do actually own a helicopter camera.
Ouch. I mean really ouch. At least it wasn't quite the 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix (I think there was a grand total of 1 on track overtake, but extensive footage of Ross Brawn peeling and then consuming a delicious banana).
I can't remember that race for banana eating. I can though at Nurburgring in 2002 Brawn with his banana eating.
2004 in general was an awful season. I can remember far more races from say 2001/02 that were entertaining in the Ferrari era of dominance.
2003 for me still a great/my fav season in past 10-15 years! The Race on Sunday probably not the worst, but it's up there.
I'd be quite happy if the limited its use to the above and setting the scene after the FOM sting, and then after the race if they really must. I find it is of exceptionally limited use during the race, other than to emphasise the fact that they do actually own a helicopter camera.
I like it's live use during on track battles over a large complex of corners, as it shows the distance between the cars increasing & decreasing well, especially when used with the live "Battle For " graphics, showing the gap.
Keeping some sense of perspective, it was definitely a poor race compared to what we've become accustomed to, but if you went back a few years I reckon that would still have been one of the better ones. I think it is a reminder that the show is consistently a lot better today than it was 10-15 years ago.
I think these days though one of the problems is that when you've got a fast car out of position the "carving through the field" isn't anywhere nearly as interesting as it used to be because the DRS makes things so easy. Bottas at Monza was particularly boring as he just drove in a straight line and the guy in front effectively cleared his route as they unsuccessfully tried to defend the inside. Multiple times.
Likewise I don't think it was particularly interesting watching Rosberg's progress, albeit at least a couple of the moves were done from a reasonable distance back.
It didn't help of course that the "wrong" tyres were taken for Sochi, which led to a safe race, which is one sense is a blessing after last week, but did lead to to a rather boring race.
Next Year when softer tyres are taken we will be able to judge how much of this years race was due to the tyre and how much due to the track.
Comments
Putin shots were weird. Anyone hear Ted's wee quip about "There must no hugs or kisses on the podium" with a funny look!
Oh Simon definately said shut down.
Perhaps but FOM showed the viewers next to no overtaking.
Anyone notice Jean Todt ignoring Fernando Alonso's hand on the grid and then going on to shake hands with all the other drivers in the lineup. Looked very poor and petty from the FIA President.
Yes, on track. Would have been nice to have those shown on the TV. You know, for those who couldn't be there...
I saw lots of overtaking.
Also, Todt has said he didn't shake Alonso's hand because he'd spoken to him (and hugged him) earlier on.
There were one or two overtaking shots on the world feed. I didn't watch the onboards or any other feeds.
totally agree, it could have done with a few bumps or a crash.
races when all they do is drive round and round with nothing happening is so boring. when that happens they will lose viewers/fans..
maybe all the drivers were told do not crash or bump as it will offend putin and you will be jailed.
Jp
Helmut Marko said
'That was one of the most boring races I've ever seen'
I don't think it was as boring as Valencia.
You wanted to see a crash, after what happened in Japan?
And I'm afraid it's right up there with Valencia in terms of uninteresting races - and that's a shame, because it's a much better track with much more potential. Turn 3 is pretty spectacular, but the rest of it doesn't match up.
I can't believe someone thinks that (and I'll use a euphemism here) 'incidents on track' would have been the right way to liven up this race. That's never the right thing to wish for. It's a part of motor racing, yes - and I will freely admit that, as a child, when I spent every single club meet weekend at Silverstone with my parents (who were both involved in motor sport at an amateur level since before I was born; my Dad used to spend Friday nights in our local pub with Louise Goodman's Dad!) I used to wish for rain and sit at Woodcote in the hopes of 'something happening'.
But that was when I was under 10 years old, before I had any concept of how awful it is to 'wish' for that kind of 'action' on track, and before I grew up and had an appreciation for the skill that goes into motor sport. Maturity has made me look back on my childhood self and realise why it was my parents always tried to make me see otherwise. I can't believe any real motor sport enthusiast (my father refuses to be a 'fan' - he says enjoyment of motor sport at any level is all about enthusiasm, not 'fandom') would ever place 'incidents on track' (crashes and accidents) above manoeuvres on track by drivers to improve the overall action, especially after last weekend (and even more once you see the footage of Jules' accident on youtube).
I have yet to watch the BBC coverage, but I will get round to it (work has a tendency to get in the way!). Not that it will improve the overall quality of the camera work and direction of shots much!
Ouch. I mean really ouch. At least it wasn't quite the 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix (I think there was a grand total of 1 on track overtake, but extensive footage of Ross Brawn peeling and then consuming a delicious banana).
FOM had some great close up angles at Sochi. But they also had some hideous CGI based positions and also an over-reliance on the helicopter view for the scenery. I suspect they were getting orders from above to show a lot of the scenery for the special guest who arrived towards the end of the race.
Generally I've never got the helicopter view. Back in F1 Digital+ days I actually saw it as a trump card how little they used it - it said to me that they had enough on track angles not to need that distant view. I appreciate it's good to use for scenery shots, but beyond that I would rather it was limited to replays where the on track cameras can't cover it.
I'll be surprised if the helicopter view survives over the next decade anyway, drones will almost certainly be cheaper to run and probably provide better angles - of the cars rather than the advertising I hope.
However not because of a lack on crashes or even overtaking. Which many see as the only thing that makes F1 worth watching.
It is the lack of challenge. The layout of Sochi might be OK, but the vast tarmac run offs offer no challenge. Drivers can run wide and not be punished for making mistakes. That is one thing F1 has got wrong. F1 should be about the best never making errors because they are the pinnacle. Now a days on tracks like that its just not the case these days.
Also as it turned out, the field didn't even see much battling. Any passes were easy and not defended and most cars spread out from each other.
I don't mind if there is little overtaking, but I like dicing, battling and fights on track. These days tyres and DRS ruin that.
I'd be quite happy if the limited its use to the above and setting the scene after the FOM sting, and then after the race if they really must. I find it is of exceptionally limited use during the race, other than to emphasise the fact that they do actually own a helicopter camera.
I can't remember that race for banana eating. I can though at Nurburgring in 2002 Brawn with his banana eating.
2004 in general was an awful season. I can remember far more races from say 2001/02 that were entertaining in the Ferrari era of dominance.
2003 for me still a great/my fav season in past 10-15 years!
I think these days though one of the problems is that when you've got a fast car out of position the "carving through the field" isn't anywhere nearly as interesting as it used to be because the DRS makes things so easy. Bottas at Monza was particularly boring as he just drove in a straight line and the guy in front effectively cleared his route as they unsuccessfully tried to defend the inside. Multiple times.
Likewise I don't think it was particularly interesting watching Rosberg's progress, albeit at least a couple of the moves were done from a reasonable distance back.
Next Year when softer tyres are taken we will be able to judge how much of this years race was due to the tyre and how much due to the track.